Just watched a youtube vid with a neat solution to the age-old problem of wanting to jack up the car at a particular position, but then wanting to have an axle stand in the same spot instead.

 

Might be making myself some that are similar, just a bit wider/taller to get a trolley jack under rather than the widow-maker/scissor type.

 

 

****. What a ****. Wrong on so many counts.

 

But otherwise, a great idea to prop up yer wagon for a wheel changing session.

Wish he could have gone to the scrap yard for another handle for his scissor jack instead of using a screwdriver.  Then if he’d made it a bit bigger the wheels could come off the ground instead of still touching. 

 

I tend to use a crossmember or inner suspension pivot to jack the car up then place an axle stand in the jacking point. 

 

Doesn't really matter what he did imperfectly, it's still a neat idea, isn't it?

If using a trolley jack you use a piece of 3x3 with a groove cut into it for the sill. Raise the car and then support the wood on breeze blocks before removing the jack. 

Which is equivalent to what he's done, isn't it?

It’s the posh (wood to protect the car) scouse version  Like I said I prefer to jack the car using a crossmember or non moving part is of the suspension. 

Proper axle stands or even wheel ramps are the way to go. 

Yes, there are many other ways of doing things.

This is a way I hadn't thought of, and one I'll be using as soon as I've made some to suit my cars. Thought I'd share.  Sorry...

Can you weld?

No.

Shame, you could have made a collapsible axle stands that you raise from underneath using the trolley jack and then just fold the legs down and secure. 

I've got plenty of good wood...

Thank god I didnt watch through 8 minutes of that, why are nearly all Youtube videos like that, actually I mean so long as I dont know what that one was like, I clicked on after about 3 minutes which is normally all the chat and saw the initial wooden block, one more click later to see the vehicle higher with the packing blocks under it was all that was needed.

 

Do people really need a 8.5 minute video instead of 2 photographs?

 

I need to sort out something for my Octavia, at the rear I can put the trolley jack under the towbar do the lift then the axle stands under the suspension or cills, at the front there is no suitable central lift point, I dont like jacking under the cills but there is a good square flat lift point each side of the engine X member but then the axle stand needs to go on the cill but better than the jack, then same procedure the other side which trys to tip over the other axle stand which the bottom of which has to be hammered back into a stable position.

 

While it was up on stands I could see that the centre of the rear located X member looked a good lifting point (it cant normally be seen behind the undertray) so I jacked the car up on that, removed the stands, lowerd it and the undertray came down and crushed on top of the lowered trolley jack, the handle now being vertical and with no movement could not relift the vehicle.

 

What a kittens i am I had to remove the handle and operate the jack with an stub of tubing, better than weightlifting.

 

Still need a solution for lifting the front up safely from one central point if anyone has a suggestion.

Situations like that it’s best to use wheel ramps unless of course you need the wheels off. Otherwise jack up one side at a time using an inner suspension mount and the use an axle stand on the reinforced part of sill. You can’t rush the raising of a car if you want to work safely. 

 

@Wino how about this?  A man of many talents like yourself could knock one up in an afternoon 

 

 

Hehe, I appreciate the confidence, but there's no way I'd stand underneath anything that looked like that if I'd made it myself!

 

Did get a funny youtube suggestion based on yesterday's find, but it got boring after the first few minutes of  ingenious hilarity. Can't find it again now, sadly.

 

Measured up my trolley jack and found a nice hardwood 'top board' earlier, so watch this space for my version of the Original Videoists stands...

Where is your sense of adventure. 

 

If you have a set of hole saws, make two shallow cuts of different sizes in the underneath of the platform and chase them out so you have a recess for the trolley jack cup to sit in. 

When you do your video of it in action please use a screwdriver instead on the handle on the jack. Not bothered about it taking forever, just want to see you work up a sweat  

I don't have such hole saws, but I like your thinking. An inward end-stop will be a nice addition, maybe, to easily centralise the Jack cup w.r.t the top board in the in/out direction.

Or just some square 'shuttering', additively creating the same locating scenario?  

I promise never to knowingly post a video of me screwing anything slowly, btw.

You could do it with a series of drill holes , then just chisel the ring out. You only need to go down 5mm. 

 

If you’re going for a similar design as the video then get some 1cm angle iron, recess the first uprights to accept the angle iron and trap it between platform. It will be safer than shuttering it in and relying on the fixings not to come lose under the weight of a car. 

11 minutes ago, Wino said:

I promise never to knowingly post a video of me screwing anything slowly, btw.

 

Some home made movies should be kept offline. 

5 minutes ago, CWARD said:

If you’re going for a similar design as the video then get some 1cm angle iron, recess the first uprights to accept the angle iron and trap it between platform. It will be safer than shuttering it in and relying on the fixings not to come lose under the weight of a car.  

 

Struggling to visualise that just now, some Argentinian winemaker may be partly to blame. What problem are we trying to solve with all this hole-sawing and whatnot? Slippage of Jack cup relative to underside of top board? It'll just embed, won't it?

Edited 19 February, 20197 yr by Wino

The recess will stop the jack slipping out from under the platform. If you shutter it in it will have the same effect. If I get time tomorrow I’ll sketch what I mean.

Unfortunately I’m having a nightmare this week cutting out the seized rear camber and toe bolts out of the Shogun. The bolts are making mince meat out of the blades on the reciprocating saw and whilst I can cut part way through the camber bolts with a grinder it won’t get near the toe bolts. 

Wish I lived nearer so I could help.